Does Zelda Need an Overhaul?

[wraggster]

CVG has up a piece noting the fact that not much about Zelda games have changed since the move to 3D. Chalk that up to the greatness of Ocarina of Time if you will, but the same mirror moving, fire-arrow switch activating puzzles have been in the last several titles. Is it time for some kind of radical change to the equation?

"People generally don't like to accept change. But change doesn't always spell disaster. Final Fantasy introduces a totally new cast, setting and theme with each sequel and continues to please fans. Resident Evil 4 completely revolutionised Capcom's horror series and is now viewed as one of the best games ever made ... We still totally adore Zelda but eventually the appeal will tire and the series risks bombing. Nintendo needs to take the bold step and inject something totally new into Zelda. We're not talking about a couple of new items, or a new location - that's been done. We mean a significant change that affects the whole structure and gameplay."

via slashdot (http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/17/187235)

[YourStillWithMe]

I agree 100%. I have a Wii and was unimpressed with Zelda:Twilight Princess. It basically was Ocarina Of Time on the Wii with the interactive controls. I'd much rather play Wii sports, Wii play, or Tiger Woods 07.

Don't get me wrong, the Zelda series is amazing and I have been playing it since its debut on the NES, but im sick of the same concept. I even have the television show on DVD. (im sure half of you reading this never even knew there was a TV series.)

[Veskgar]

I definitely feel that the Zelda has lost some of the magic that the original classics had. I find myself going back to the very first Zelda on NES and Link to the Past on the SNES. Call it nostalgia or whatever you want but nothing beats classic Zelda.

With that said we must not forget that Phantom Hourglass is on its way for the Nintendo DS Lite. With the innovation & interactivity that the DS Lite provides with the microphone, touch screen, dual screens, etc. I think Nintendo will surely revive Zelda with this upcoming DS game.

And the fact that the games release date keeps getting pushed back tells me that Nintendo is really spending time perfecting it. Of course, part of it is that Nintendo will likely hold back and make Phantom Hourglass their secret weapon this holiday season and give it a release date in November/December.

In any event, Phantom Hourglass is the one DS Lite game I look forward to most.

The Legend of Zelda will never die!

[CrossZX]

A Zelda game with a more epic feel like Final Fantasy would be great. Harder and bigger bosses would be nice too. I mean the bosses in Twilight were nice but way to easy not like the bosses in OOC which were hard but felt rewarding after beating them. The same also goes for the dungeons. They are way to simple.
Does anyone remember the April fools day video which showed made up artwork of a futuristic Zelda game? I mean this kind of game would be awesome. Just imagine Link riding through Hyrule town and Hyrule itself at high speed on his faithful bike Epona and then jumping of to kill some enemies using the Master Sword and a gun instead of bow and arrows.

[Sp3ct0r]

*covers Ears* Lalalalalalalala!!! I Cant Hear You!!!!

[Deathnix]

Yeah, I remeber the wolf/human switching puzzles all the way back in Zelda for Nes.
Oh, wait a min, no I don't!

[bklyn]

If it works, don't break it.

Or whatever the saying is. :D

[acn010]

it needs a make over? i think they must

[Balthasar00]

Final Fantasy introduces a totally new cast, setting and theme with each sequel and continues to please fans.

So wrong.. Staff have completely changed since good old ones. Quality drop a few more in each sequels. Fan base have changed, they wana epic CGI, novel like stories and high-tech mecha battles..

Can't say for Zelda:Twilight Princess. Didn't played it so far. Ocarina of time was incredible. A sweet kick-ass way to enter in real 3D! Still, less good than Link to the past. Majora's Mask was a desaster.. Wind Walker ; had potential, but, incomplete.

I think they have to work alot on the feel, the ''ambiance'', rather than on a complex story or on extreme visuals acheivements. Link to the past had a incredibly huge landscape (normal world and the other weird one.) + many dongeons. Few months ago, I was talking about shadow of the colossus to some old Zelda maniacs. They were all agree that that game have some short of Zelda ''ambiance''. An arty game with a huge and variated landscape, climat changes.. and of course, some colossal giants. I think that if we merge shadow of the colossus style & gamplay with zelda ; nice rpg-like story, cool dongeon puzzles.. We could get the perfect Action-rpg of the century.

[r2works]

Its funny to compare traditional 8bit/16bit games to the technology we have now. If people werent complaining about it being too much the same, then it would be about it being too different, look at Prince of Persia; yes its not created by the orginal developers, but it is an evolved version of the original.

The real question is to the gamers. Are you finally outgrowing Zelda? Do you not by Zelda, with the intentions of it being a "Zelda game?"

[shadowprophet]

Man I feel old. I remember the delay and release of a link to the past like it was yesterday,
Still I have a point to all this, The legend of zelda wind waker. Which is arguably the most off beat zelda title since 2, Was still a great title, If one could get past its bright shiny cell shaded look.
But for years after that people where screaming, Bring us a "real" zelda with more traditional graphics, and an adult link. Then Nintendo does something that it rarely ever does. It decides to give the fans "exactly" what they want. And yet the fans for the most part. Look at twilight princess and see much room for improvement.

Im not here to point out the irony in that, or even make people reflect on how fickle the zelda fan base is.

Personally, For me twilight princess was a master piece, I found no flaw in this game from beginning to end.

But I do see the point of those people that claim Zelda needs an overhaul. For years now zelda has basically been the same game. the most dramatic change the series has ever faced is the 2d to 3d conversion. I believe it is time for something to drastically change in the Zelda series.
What that may be I don't know.
But i do know people are ready for the next step with the zelda series, they are ready for the next revolutionary move that takes the series truly into the next generation.

The question on many peoples minds, Is zelda to sacred for nintendo to really change?
If they do change zelda and it fails, Nintendo stands to lose more money on that title then if they had just appeased the series fans.
there's a lot to take into account here.

[jamotto]

After 27 years of Mario and 22 years of Link, both are way over due for retirement. With Nintendo doing so well, maybe now would be a good time to introduce some new characters.

[Basil Zero]

For one thing first:, their late on this article.


Two, no way, Zelda is popular because of the fact that the gameplay is similiar but with abit additions, the originality of the series is still there, though it is overused, it is because of that overuse that it is successful

And its not just for zelda, but for every nintendo game, look at pokemon, their still making millions after the same formula being used.

[Veskgar]

Shadowprophet makes an excellent point. People who just couldn't get used to the cell-shaded Link on Windwaker were crying out for an older more realistic Link.

That is exactly what Twilight Princess delivers and now people want to gripe about that as well.

Its similar to the Star Wars movies. I and many others grew up with the "Original Trilogy" and nowadays you have the "Prequels" which a lot of fans of the original hate. Yet a lot of kids today find much fun and adventure with the new Star Wars movies despite the missing elements the originals had.

Its very hard, if not impossible to recreate that magic nostalgia of the feelings a movie or game gave us when we were kids. There is definitely something about being an adult that changes things. Nobody expected Zelda to be such a timeless and endearing hit over and over again.

The bottom line is that the Zelda games reinvent themselves more than any other game franchise. Sure there are similarities, but the incredible diversity between all of the different Zelda games is impressive.

Most people prefer Ocarina of Time and that is why I think the Phantom Hourglass will be so great. The DS Lite has shown many similarities to the N64. In fact its much better than the N64 so Zelda on the DS Lite is very cool indeed.

Nothing lasts forever except memories and feelings so as long as the Legend of Zelda continues, I will be there for every adventure hoping to unlock that magic that was there for me when I was a kid.

[shadowprophet]

Personally, I think, The problem with zelda has nothing to do with its game play or its graphical splendor,

I believe that deep down, What people are ready to see, Is the true sequel to the zelda story,
Now this is gonna get tricky, But follow me on this.
For years now, Link has traversed impossible odds, to deliver one of the most clichéd stories in videogame history, "to save the princess and his land" But. I think people are ready to see what happens to link after he saves hyrule. What kind of life does he lead, Does he marry the princess, does he become king of hyrule, I think the real problem with the zelda series, its that's its time to finely give link the depth he deserves as a character.

[.:}<3\/!}\{:.]

Personally, I think, The problem with zelda has nothing to do with its game play or its graphical splendor,

I believe that deep down, What people are ready to see, Is the true sequel to the zelda story,
Now this is gonna get tricky, But follow me on this.
For years now, Link has traversed impossible odds, to deliver one of the most clichéd stories in videogame history, "to save the princess and his land" But. I think people are ready to see what happens to link after he saves hyrule. What kind of life does he lead, Does he marry the princess, does he become king of hyrule, I think the real problem with the zelda series, its that's its time to finely give link the depth he deserves as a character.

yeh i think they should move the story along:) but if they need to change something, what could they change??:confused: but as long as Nintendo keeps theirs fans happy that all it matters:thumbup:

[Airdevil]

Personally, I think, The problem with zelda has nothing to do with its game play or its graphical splendor,

I believe that deep down, What people are ready to see, Is the true sequel to the zelda story,
Now this is gonna get tricky, But follow me on this.
For years now, Link has traversed impossible odds, to deliver one of the most clichéd stories in videogame history, "to save the princess and his land" But. I think people are ready to see what happens to link after he saves hyrule. What kind of life does he lead, Does he marry the princess, does he become king of hyrule, I think the real problem with the zelda series, its that's its time to finely give link the depth he deserves as a character.



Majoras Mask was a proper sequal to OOT.....

[mcdougall57]

i think link as a king fending off enemies attacks would be awsome

[gamerremag]

I agree 100%. I have a Wii and was unimpressed with Zelda:Twilight Princess. It basically was Ocarina Of Time on the Wii with the interactive controls. I'd much rather play Wii sports, Wii play, or Tiger Woods 07.

Don't get me wrong, the Zelda series is amazing and I have been playing it since its debut on the NES, but im sick of the same concept. I even have the television show on DVD. (im sure half of you reading this never even knew there was a TV series.)

^lol, i knew of the series, and i feel the same way. honestly the only cool thing about zelda was bragging to your friends that you have it on wii. it is just the same old thing. water temple, fire temple, music instrament (spelling?), ect. What made me really mad though is that the world was supposed to be like the one from OoT. in this one, everything was all rearranged. its a good change if you say there is going to be a change, but if you say everything is going to be the same and you surprise players, it is disliked.

alright, im going back to my CDi to play zelda:the faces of evil ..... jk i wish i had that...

[alienanthropologist]

I think if Nintendo released a new Zelda for the Wii, created from top to bottom with the Wii functionalities in mind, the game with the potential to deliver the kind of fundamental change that could revolutionise the Zelda series again.

I believe that Nintendo next time around will release a game which will be drastically different to Twighlight Princess, and I hope that they know what a great opportunity they have to surprise fans with a game that's different, imaginative and provoking.

[Cap'n 1time]

I love the zelda series and I think it should continue, but it is about freaking time Link was retired. It's about time we learned about Link's mother, Link's actual children (and who he has it with). There is plenty of story, but they keep creating these spin offs of Link to the Past and OoT. MM was the only true sequel to a zelda game, and even though it wasnt received nearly as well as OoT, I thought it was nice to have something completely unrelated to the normal zelda universe.

[gamerremag]

^uh, wasnt twilight about links grand kid or whatever.... that is why his clothes were tattered and when he talked to the first fairy (after you killed those bug things the first time you went into twilight) it said those are the heros clothes of long ago or w/e

[gronne]

I agree, in the end we'll all get tired if there's nothing really new to it. And considering Nintendo's revolutionized the whole industry with how unique the wii and ds operate, I think they should be the ones to do it. But, I guess they won't for the same reason they hadn't revolutionized the wii if the gamecube would've done well. The Zelda series have always done extraordinarily well, and they're simply too afraid to change too much. So if it would flop, we may have a new design for the next version.

Anyway, I agree, there should be new characters taken to Nintendo. Mario could go hang himself, I've always been a bigger Link fan, nonetheless :) But really, after "Zelda II: The adventure of Link", the series could've gone anywhere. It wasn't that childish in "Zelda II" and I liked that, but then it turned a bit more childish with "A Link to the past", and even more so in "OOT", so for every installment after the second(and best) it's been going slightly more childish all the time, and that's really sad. Still a great game, but it could've been the most amazing adventure game had it not gone too childish... maybe as good as the FF-series even.

[Shadowblind]

Creator of Link--time to pick a new bada**. I recommend:
http://hometown.aol.com/cchiu33158/cowboy/spike2.jpg

[felonyr301]

Personally while everything is changing IMO for the worst sometimes I still want something that's not different and Zelda is my fix for that.

[Gold Line]

zelda rules and it will always be nintendos gold.

oh and zelda 2 was the worst zelda game ever!

[lightningdude]

In my own personal opinion, Zelda needs to step up and help Link. The way the creators of SSBM came up with all the magic for Zelda to fight with was pretty cool. I, personally, like to pit myself (as Zelda) against a computer controlled Gannondorf just to get revenge for all the times he's kidnapped Zelda.

As far as I'm concerned, Wind Waker was an eventual sequel to OoT and MM. It was explained that since the original hero, when children come of age, they don the same clothes and quest to find legendary swords to become heroes as well. That alone was Nintendo's excuse to keep it at Link is always Link, we can't continue to show what happens to him.

Phantom Hourglass, as I've understood, is supposed to be a sequel to Wind Waker, with all the sailing around on the boat. I think the subtle changes that have been made are good, but I agree that it needs to be revamped somehow. Keep the characters that we have known and loved for so long, but make the story just a little different.

(I saw this and thought of a game where you could switch out between Link and Zelda as combatants, similar to Lunar Knights) BTW, I also own the Zelda Cartoon Series on DVD.

[redsyrup]

Nintendo makes each of it's franchises better with each iteration, even when catering to winey American fans that don't know a good thing till after it's gone.

Bring back the Cellda!!

[Cap'n 1time]

zelda rules and it will always be nintendos gold.

oh and zelda 2 was the worst zelda game ever!

I thought Zelda 2 was a great game. People that hate it generally dont give it enough of a chance in my opinion. Seriously, try it again. It's a pretty cool game.

[Gold Line]

I thought Zelda 2 was a great game. People that hate it generally dont give it enough of a chance in my opinion. Seriously, try it again. It's a pretty cool game.

well...your right i played it for 10 min then went back to playing zelda (the first one) maby i will take a 2nd look

[werpu]

Personally, I think, The problem with zelda has nothing to do with its game play or its graphical splendor,
Does he marry the princess, does he become king of hyrule, I think the real problem with the zelda series, its that's its time to finely give link the depth he deserves as a character.
Watch Shrek 2...
That is the follow up to the story (sort of)
:rofl:

[shadowprophet]

Watch Shrek 2...
That is the follow up to the story (sort of)
:rofl:

:thumbup: